Billy Hollywood has been axed as manager of crisis club Racing Warwick.

He has been replaced by Peter Wilson and Mick Beadle, members of the coaching academy at Leicester City, who face the mammoth task of keeping rock-bottom Racing in the Dr Martens Western Division.

Racing, who are set to leave their Townsend Meadows ground for a new facility further down Hampton Road in time for the 2004-5 season, are 16 points adrift of third-from-bottom Rocester - and they face a crunch game at second-to-bottom Swindon Supermarine on Saturday.

Racing chairman Jim Wright told Hollywood of the committee?s decision by telephone on Saturday evening after the Racing party had returned from the game at Taunton Town, which was called off 90 minutes before the scheduled kick-off because of a frozen pitch.

Hollywood said: ?If I had been the chairman I would have sacked me a long time ago so I am not shocked by the decision - but the way in which it was done has left a nasty taste in my mouth.

?I asked the chairman for #50 to bring in a couple of players on Thursday and he told me on the phone on Saturday that that had been the last straw.

?If I had upset him so much on Thursday why didn?t he tell me face to face there and then that I was sacked?

?Why did he let me go all the way to Taunton - he has not been to an away match all season - and then phone me at the clubhouse to tell me that he was letting me go?

?I have done what I could for Warwick with probably the smallest budget in the division but the chairman does not seem to believe that, he feels that he has been paying out thousands.

?I have put in a lot more effort for Racing than some of the players, I can walk away with my head held high. It is my wedding anniversary today so I shall be taking my wife, Sue, out tonight and I am going to forget about football for a while.?

Wright said: ?I like and admire Billy too much as a man to say anything bad about him but we would not have been doing him any favours by letting him carry on.

?He has become tired and jaded by trying to do his best for Warwick, he has been under pressure from both the club and supporters.

?Sometimes you have to make tough decisions in life and this was one of them, we have obvious problems in the league and we have to give the new people time if we are to have any chance of being saved.

?It would have been difficult to have got rid of Billy on Thursday and got someone in place in time for the trip to Taunton, had we won at Taunton then things might have been different and it was unfortunate that the game was off.?

It is understood that Wilson and Beadle have been at a couple of recent Racing games and Wright added: ?Given our problems a number of people had thrown their hat into the ring and Peter Wilson and Mick Beadle were two of them.

?They are both UEFA B coaches and we have high hopes of them.

?All of the players registered with us, whether they are still with the club or not, are invited to meet the new men at the ground this Wednesday evening.?